First Ukraine pilots trained to fly Western jets in France
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An Ukrainian trainee getting ready ahead of a flight with an unseen French military instructor on board an Alpha Jet fighter jet.
PHOTO: AFP
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PARIS - At a secret location in south-western France, a young Ukrainian pilot kept a tight grip on the controls of an Alpha Jet trainer aircraft.
The pilot – who was not allowed to speak to journalists – is a part of a 10-strong group of Ukrainians who have been undergoing accelerated six-month training in France using simulators and the twin-engined aircraft.
Aged 21 to 23, the Ukrainians are undergoing the same training as French pilots but in half the time – learning how to navigate, target and shoot.
“We are doing everything to ensure that this happens as quickly as possible,” the commander of the base told journalists on a recent visit.
France had used the Alpha Jets to train French pilots for more than 40 years. In 2023 they were replaced by Pilatus PC-21s, turboprop advanced trainers.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,
Kyiv’s Western allies have promised to send F-16 supersonic fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first expected soon, and Ukrainian pilots have been training in the West for months to fly the aircraft.
In mid-May, Zelensky told AFP that Ukraine needed 120 to 130 F-16s to achieve air parity with Russia.
France has pledged to train 26 Ukrainians over the next two years, a major effort for its air force which prepares around 30 French pilots every year.
In early June, President Emmanuel Macron said France would transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine, which will require a different type of final training for pilots and mechanics.
The authorities have not released any details on the number of aircraft or the planned training programme.
‘Bumpy ride’
On the day the journalists visited the French air base, the first group of Ukrainian trainees were learning to fly at low altitude at speeds of 700kmh.
“It’s going to be a bumpy ride,” the squadron’s commander warned just before take-off.
“The lower you fly, the later you’re detected. Flying at this altitude allows us to understand speed” and its dangers, said the lieutenant-colonel.
Around the students were a score of instructors and former French pilots.
The programme in France includes 80 flight hours on the Alpha Jet and 50 simulator sessions.
It marks a new stage in the Ukrainians’ F-16 training, entrusted to a coalition of 11 of Ukraine’s allies which was set up in July 2023 and includes Britain, Canada and European countries.
Before arriving in France, the Ukrainians underwent initial training in Britain.
After France, the trainees will head to another country, possibly Romania, for the final four-month phase of the programme to pilot F-16s.
During their stay in Britain, the Ukrainians were trained using Grob fixed-wing aircraft to break away from Soviet culture, in which “the pilot is the executor of someone who controls him on the ground”, said the commander.
The aim is to “acquire the initiative, autonomy and decision-making skills that are the strength of the Western system”.
The Ukrainian pilots will not be ready before the end of the year, at best.
“An F-16 is more complex than an Alpha Jet,” said one instructor, who has flown in Afghanistan, the Sahel region of Africa and the Central African Republic.
“It goes faster, it accelerates faster, the weapons system is more complex.” AFP
A Ukrainian trainee managing pre-flight checks ahead of a flight with an unseen French military instructor on board an Alpha Jet fighter jet.
PHOTO: AFP
